StarCraft: Evolution
by Hawki
Summary: Oneshot: The zerg are evolving for StarCraft II, as per the edicts of the Queen of Blades. With winged zerglings, nydus worms and carnifex-based ultralisks however, perhaps evolution has reached a dead end...


_Disclaimer: Blizzard owns StarCraft and all its characters._

**Evolution**

With a shriek, the Zergling bursts out of its egg, raising its head towards the dark sky of Char. It knows of its purpose as soon as it was spawned; to serve the Queen of Blades and through her, the Zerg Swarm. And with the terran forces currently on Char, that time will probably come sooner rather than latter.

_And all the better for it too, _the Zergling thinks, gnashing its teeth together in unison with the dozen or so other similar critters beside it. _I'm ready to fulfil my role, even if it means death. I'm ready to tear my enemies limb from limb. I'm ready to…wait a minute._ The Zergling looks over its shoulder.

_Why have I got wings?_

* * *

Along with its brethren, the Zergling bounds towards the central hive of the colony, or at least tries to. Its wings aren't making things easy for it and that's not the only obstacle. Strange things are occurring in the hive cluster, ranging from strange green balls rolling along (and somehow keeping their centre of gravity) to infested terrans being taken away by Drones for disposal. What's most strange however, is an Ultralisk sitting by its cavern. Somehow, it is holding a small book, the title of which reads _Codex: Tyranids_. 

_What are you reading that for? _the Zergling asks the behemoth. In response, the Ultralisk shows the Zergling the page it is on. A monster called the Carnifex is displayed

_Checking up on my origins, _the Ultralisk explains.

The Zergling is confused; did not the Ultralisk evolve from the brontolith? And what in the name of the Overmind is a Carnifex? And come to think of it, where the hell did it get those extra tusks and that strange purple sheen?

No matter. The Queen of Blades no doubt has an explanation.

* * *

It's not the Queen of Blades that greets the Zerglings, at least not immediately. Rather, their first point of call is an infested terran named Ethan Stewart, who announces that his queen will come at her own leisure. 

_**His**_ _Queen?_ the Zergling wonders. _Does he have any idea how sick and twisted that sounds? _It shrugs the thought off. When one is part of a race which kills anything and everything it comes across, 'sick and twisted' is pretty much a constant.

As it waits, the Zergling looks around the interior of the Hive. Not much to see really, apart from a small purple crystal _(what the hell is that anyway? _the Zergling wonders) and another group of Zerglings in the corner. Or at least he _thinks _they're Zerglings. For one thing, they don't have wings, instead looking squatter. Like…dogs really, though not akin to the Roverlisk the Zergling shudders at the mere thoughtof _that_ thing). What truly catches his eye however, is that these Zerglings appear to attending some kind of funeral. A large banner is above them;

**Rest in Peace StarCraft: Ghost**

The Zergling goes to investigate, but stops short. The Queen of Blades has entered.

_I suppose you have a great many questions, _the Queen says. _Such as your current mutations._

By way of answer, a Zergling attempts to fly and fails miserably, landing on the ground with a thump. In response to this transgression, one of those green balls rolls into the Hive and detonates, taking out the Zergling and the strange purple crystal thing with it.

_I suppose that wraps up the explanation about Banelings, _the Queen says. _Now as for your wings…_

The Zerglings lean forward expectantly, eager to hear the answer as to why they look like locusts. To their dismay, it is actually Stewart that steps forward.

_It was my idea, _the former crime lord says smugly, shattering the Zerglings' hopes and dreams that their Queen had blessed them personally. _The next step for the Zerg. Not mutation…but evolution!_

The Zergling wants to point out that mutation is part of evolution and call Stewart a jackarse while he's at it. He resists the urge to, courtesy of the Queen's glazed eyes. No doubt communicating with one of her Overlords. Or at least the Zergling assumes that they're Overlords. The green sacks and eyes certainly weren't standard four years ago.

_New intel, _says the Queen eventually. _The terrans are on the move and as such, we're sending you over the lava to engage them._

_**Over**__ the lava? _the Zergling asks. _Not under? Don't we have Nydus Canals?_

Stewart steps forward. _We've replaced Nydus Canals with Nydus Worms actually. Unfortunately, they seem to have a poor sense of direction…_The former human grimaces, as if the problem is his own fault, as if he had pioneered a poor replacement for a perfectly good structure.

_Hell, the jackarse is probably the one responsible…_

_But no matter, we need not worry! _Stewart declares. _You shall have the honor of showing the terrans the fury of the new Swarm! You shall be angels of death! You shall fly over a river of fire and then send them to __**lakes**__ of fire in the depths of hell itself!_ He looks around sheepishly. _Provided that you can fly over of course…_

The Zerglings look around uneasily. Most of them turn to the funeral held in the Hive's corner, unable to shake the feeling that they'll be joining it in the near future…

As it was, the Zerglings didn't turn the funeral detail. Not even the Zerg can retrieve bodies from molten material. No matter though. The Swarm can always evolve further…

* * *

With a shriek, the Zergling bursts out of its egg, raising its head towards the dark sky of Char. It knows of its purpose as soon as it was spawned; to serve the Queen of Blades and through her, the Zerg Swarm. And with the terran forces currently on Char, that time will probably come sooner rather than latter. 

_And all the better for it too, _the Zergling thinks, gnashing its teeth together in unison with the dozen or so other similar critters beside it. _I'm ready to fulfil my role, even if it means death. I'm ready to tear my enemies limb from limb. I'm ready to…wait a minute._ The Zergling looks over its shoulder and then over the rest of his body, realising that the term "Queen Bitch of the Universe" is well earnt…

…_why do I look like a grasshopper?_

* * *

_A/N_

_Gotta feel sorry for Blizzard really, when it comes to StarCraft II, how anyone can pretty much complain about anything they come up with. Sometimes I personally wonder whether people are complaining for the sake of it. Still, it can be fun to do such a thing I guess, so here's the result. Still, for the record..._

_-I'm actually reserving judgement on the Zergling wings. Considering that the Baneling has replaced the Infested Terran (no great loss there), I personally suspect that Zerglings may mutate into a replacement for the Scourge and in such a mutation, their wings will mature into something more viable. If not...well, time will tell._

_-While I suspect that the new Ultralisk may have been 'inspired' by the Tyranid Carnifex from 40K, I'm not complaining. I actually prefer the new look._

_-I'm personally not a fan of Stewart being infested in _Shadow Hunters_, especially since it was at Kerrigan's behest (forgotten Duran going AWOL so soon Ms. Kerrigan? Since when were you a flyer?), which seems to contradict her Zerg status. Still, with any luck, Stewart will be taken out in _Twilight _and take Rosemary Mary Sue Dahl with him. Hey, I can dream, right?_

_-Roverlisks...don't go there. **Ever**_.

_-The Nydus Worm is a far better replacement for the Nydus Canal. Period._

_Still, these are just opinions. Feel free to leave your own in reviews. ;)_


End file.
